Remember President Bush?s repeated invocations to ?support our troops? in Iraq and Afghanistan? How about his frequent admonishments to fly the flag in order to let our troops know how much we appreciate them? Or his pleas that we must "stay the course," so as to prove that our sons and daughters over there have not died or been wounded in vain, fighting Bush's folly of a war? Well, some people apparently have forgotten President Bush's invocations, admonishments and pleas. Unfortunately for Bush, it's not Democrats but his own favorite House Republicans, including Virginia?s very own Representative Tom Davis, who are having memory lapses. Just last week, we had the spectacle of the House of Representatives, in a cliff-hanger, mostly party-line vote, defeating 214-213 an attempt by Democrats to add a piddling $53 million in new funding for veterans' health care. Already, 103,000 Iraq and Afghanistan War vets are seeking such care, with hundreds of thousands more expected to follow.
Care to guess which local Republican voted against this bill to support our veterans? That's right, it was none other than Northern Virginia's own Tom "Mr. Republican" Davis. If Davis had switched his vote, the measure would have passed. Thanks, Tom!
What's so pitiful about this vote is when you compare the meager $53 million proposed for veterans' health care services to the billions and billions of dollars being approved for the war itself. What's even more pitiful - and infuriating - is when you realize how much money has vanished into the corporate maw of war profiteers, gone without a trace. Sure, many of the vets are not ?regular military? but rather National Guard and Reserves, but they are veterans nonetheless, putting their lives on the line. Frankly, the way Tom Davis and his Republican cronies are treating these people is disgraceful, especially when they constantly talk about how they are the "pro-military" party. Yeah, right!
What is this outrage all about? I?ll tell you what it is, it?s one more example of the ruthless hypocrisy of House Republicans ? most of whom, by the way, have NO close family member serving in combat, or anywhere near it! Come to think of it, most of them never served in the military either. They certainly have never been shot at, so it?s big surprise how easy it is for them to wrap themselves in the flag and send other people to fight and die.
What do we do about this outrage? I say there's one answer, and one answer only. Come November 2006, we need to head to the polls, where we can have the honor and privilige of throwing the lazy, hypocritical, unpatriotic Republican rascals out!
[UPDATE July 7 AM: Tom Davis is now thinking of running for Senate if George Allen vacates the seat to run for President. Or, he could be "persuaded" to fill the seat "if the opportunity arose." Oh joy. Davis could then stiff our veterans from the Senate instead of from the House.]
"[I]t’s clear from talking to Hurst that this is a Democrat who’s committed to reform and clean, honest, “good government.†That’s critically important, of course, especially in light of all the scandals and slime we’re seeing in Washington, DC right now. . . . Hurst is a committed, active Democrat who believes in health care for all, has been strongly against the Iraq War from the beginning, and a John Edwards/Mark Warner positive vision for America.
"Perhaps most importantly, Andrew Hurst is running for public office for all the right reasons, not for personal career advancement. In fact, Hurst pointed out that if anything, challenging Tom Davis actually could HURT his legal career. But so be it. It may sound corny, but Hurst is actually running for public office because he cares - about the future of his family, his state, and his country. Hurst definitely does not believe that incumbents should be re-annointed every 2 years, certainly not for life. Also importantly, Hurst stresses that he is not beholden to anyone, that he wants to hear the best ideas and give people an opportunity to get involved. Hurst is proud of his “poor white trash kid†roots on the Jersey shore, not far from where Bruce Springsteen grew up. Today, Hurst is a successful corporate attorney (at Reed Smith LLP), but he hasn’t forgotten his hard-working, blue collar roots."
Check this out from Value Judgement.
Davis is again trying to stick his nose in the baseball deals for his Republican friends.